I'm down to eating almost nothing. Nothing is really the only thing
that looks good. I guess tough, wormy meat, moldy flour, and bug filled
fruit never really did look or taste good. But 5 months in, it really
doesn't look good, I can't speak on the taste lately, because I haven't
attempted to try anything that I'm not sure I will be able to choke
down. Which brings me to my current situation: eating almost nothing.
Luckily my current lifestyle doesn't include much physical activity so
I'm not in danger of wasting away any time soon and the daily
multivitamins probably ward off rickets, anemia, and scurvy. Not to
worry.
Earlier this week, though, there was a fortunate development in the calorie acquisition department: for reasons unknown, eggs became less affordable/available in the market (some details were lost in translation). So, to compensate for the absence of daily fried eggs the cooks usually make in the morning, they decided to make fried doughnut hole things instead. After the initial resistance, everyone seemed to be excited about the change. Soooo, they made them for breakfast AND dinner the next day. And now they're here, albeit badly burned, for breakfast again. I sense I may see more for lunch. Oh boy. Calorie requirements for the day met early. Check.
Previously in order to make my caloric ends meet, I had been reduced to finding some sort of nutrition in whatever I could scrounge from the cupboards and a few departed expat care packages. It's mango season so I subsisted on just those for a few days until we ran out. Then I raided the banana tree behind the laundry. Turns out they were actually very green plantains. Yeech. Other delicious "combinations": Pineapple and mashed potatoes, canned artichoke hearts and jelly beans, and my all time favorite cooking oil and salt mixed together that I then slather on the odorless, tasteless flat bread they sell here. It's okay though. Just two more weeks and I will have the biggest salad ever made in the history of salads.
In the meantime, this is a relatively safe exploration of the realities of food insecurity that many people experience on a daily basis. My neighbors here in South Sudan may never get enough to eat and have probably never eaten a jelly bean. I'd like to dedicate my first salad to them.
Earlier this week, though, there was a fortunate development in the calorie acquisition department: for reasons unknown, eggs became less affordable/available in the market (some details were lost in translation). So, to compensate for the absence of daily fried eggs the cooks usually make in the morning, they decided to make fried doughnut hole things instead. After the initial resistance, everyone seemed to be excited about the change. Soooo, they made them for breakfast AND dinner the next day. And now they're here, albeit badly burned, for breakfast again. I sense I may see more for lunch. Oh boy. Calorie requirements for the day met early. Check.
Previously in order to make my caloric ends meet, I had been reduced to finding some sort of nutrition in whatever I could scrounge from the cupboards and a few departed expat care packages. It's mango season so I subsisted on just those for a few days until we ran out. Then I raided the banana tree behind the laundry. Turns out they were actually very green plantains. Yeech. Other delicious "combinations": Pineapple and mashed potatoes, canned artichoke hearts and jelly beans, and my all time favorite cooking oil and salt mixed together that I then slather on the odorless, tasteless flat bread they sell here. It's okay though. Just two more weeks and I will have the biggest salad ever made in the history of salads.
In the meantime, this is a relatively safe exploration of the realities of food insecurity that many people experience on a daily basis. My neighbors here in South Sudan may never get enough to eat and have probably never eaten a jelly bean. I'd like to dedicate my first salad to them.
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| Ants sold separately. |
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